Home Minister Hishamuddin Hussein Onn's Brother, Haris, Still Owns 180,000 Shares in Liberal Technology

Read here for more in The Age (Australia) by Richard Baker and Nick McKenzie andHERE

Home Minister Hishamuddin Says He is Ignorant of Link to his Brother, Haris Hussein Onn in the Scandal

Malaysian company, Liberal Technology, accused of being hired by Australian company Securency for political leverage said yesterday that Haris Hussein Onn, the cousin of the prime minister Najib Razak, and its purported link to Malaysia’s top leadership, sold his shares in 2006.

Liberal Technology Sdn Bhd said in a response to the June 6 The Age article, that Haris ceased to be a shareholder of the company when he sold his stake of 180,000 shares on September 4 2006 to a Shazal Yusuf.

It also said that in its last annual return on June 30 last year, it had listed Hafidzuddin Che Din and Mohamed Hanif Che Din as the sole shareholders of the company with 500,000 shares each.

But Companies Commission data shows OTHERWISE. Companies Commission of Malaysia records show the minister's brother, Haris Onn Hussein, to be Liberal Technology's LARGEST individual shareholder, WITH 180,000 shares.

The Age asked the company yesterday why its records still showed Haris Onn Hussein as a shareholder. Liberal Technology did NOT respond.

Meanwhile, Home Affairs Minister,Hishamuddin Hussein Onn says he had NO idea a company associated with his brother (Haris Hussein Onn) was hired as an agent by troubled Reserve Bank of Australia firm Securency.

The brothers (Hishamuddin and Haris) are COUSINS of Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak. Their late father Hussein Onn was Malaysia's prime minister between 1976 and 1981.

Malaysian' POLITICAL ROYAL FAMILY
(INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS DEALINGS WITH HIGH LEVEL POLITICS)

(High Flying Businessman)


(LEFT) The Brother, Hishamuddin Hussein Onn, (Home Minister)
(RIGHT) The Cousin, Najib Razak, the Prime Minister

Malaysia's Home Minister Hishamuddin Hussein- who is negotiating the asylum seeker swap deal with the Gillard government - also told Malaysia's Sun Daily newspaper this week that he did not think an Australian company would engage a company linked to politically-connected figures in the hope of furthering its business interests in Malaysia.

n the June 6 article ‘Securency money trail nudges Malaysia’s political royalty’, The Age claimed that Securency had hired Haris Onn Hussein in 2009 with the hope that he would offer it access and influence over Malaysia’s top politicians and also said that in 2006, the Malaysian finance ministry told cigarette and alcohol manufacturers that they would need to buy security labels provided by Liberal Technology to legally sell their products.

The Age claimed that Securency, a leading supplier of plastic dollar bills, had hired Datuk Haris Onn Hussein, who is Home Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein’s brother and the cousin of Datuk Seri Najib Razak, in an effort to win banknote contracts.

The report noted however that Securency has not won any banknote contracts in Malaysia since its last major one in 2004 and added that it is not suggesting that Najib or Hishamuddin are involved with Sucerency’s deals.

The Age said that Securency, which is 50 per cent owned by the Reserve Bank of Australia, has been under investigation by the Australian Federal Police and the British Serious Fraud Office for allegedly bribing public officials in Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Nigeria to win banknote supply contracts.

Securency’s managing director, Myles Curtis, and chief financial officer, John Ellery, were forced out of the company in March last year while its deputy chairman, English businessman Bill Lowther, resigned in October following his arrest by the Serious Fraud Office.

The Age report comes at a sensitive time as Malaysia and Australia are about to seal a deal on a refugee swap and the Melbourne paper said that Australia’s international relations could be harmed if foreign officials allegedly linked to Sucerency’s bribes are named.

The Najib administration has also been pushing the message of reform and transparency in an effort to improve Malaysia’s business climate and boost the country’s competitiveness.

Securency is being investigated by the Australian Federal Police and Britain's Serious Fraud Office for allegedly bribing public officials in Vietnam, Malaysia, Nigeria and Indonesia in return for winning polymer banknote supply contracts.

Liberal Technology's official corporate records obtained yesterday from the Companies Commission of Malaysia list Haris Onn Hussein as the holder of 180,000 shares.